There has been a new reported development in the Heat-Jimmy Butler trade speculation.
As the Miami Heat suffered a collapse Saturday night to the Orlando Magic, the team is still surrounded by trade rumors involving star Jimmy Butler. The Heat star left last Friday's game against the Thunder with an illness as it amplified the speculation with some insight revealed about what the team has heard in possible trade talks.
On the social media app X, formerly Twitter, a user would ask Miami Herald reporter Barry Jackson "Are they talking to teams Barry" in reference to the Heat. He would respond that they are "taking calls and listening but I don't see anything great out there yet" when talking about deals for the 35-year-old.
The original post by a user would be in response to Jackson speaking about the outcomes of the Heat not pursuing a trade for Butler and the likelihood of the star leaving in free agency with the team gaining nothing from it. However, he would say that the team has "no concern" in losing the forward without conducting a trade.
"Now that Jimmy Butler has been linked to 7 teams by various national outlets, important to remind everyone: The idea of 'losing Butler for nothing' next summer is of absolutely no concern to Heat," Jackson wrote Sunday. "Only rebuilding Nets have cap space to sign him. If Heat gets a great trade offer, they're open to it. If not, as we and others have reported, they're happy to take this into next summer."
The first four teams linked to the Heat's Jimmy Butler
It's important to look back where Jackson mentioned there are seven teams that have been connected to the Marquette product through recent reporting. This started when Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Butler had preferred destinations if he were to be traded and that the Heat are "open" to offers with the three teams listed being the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and the. Golden State Warriors.
"The Heat are open to listening to offers for Butler and making a deal if the proposal is right, league sources told ESPN," Charania wrote on Dec. 20. "And Butler's agent, Bernie Lee, has indicated in league circles that Butler is open to destinations such as two Texas teams (Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks) and the Golden State Warriors."
After that initial report from Charania, he would add another to the list being the Phoenix Suns as a team Butler would open to going to if he were to be dealt by the Feb. 6 trade deadline. This was a post on X as it garnered a visceral reaction from Butler's agent who called the report "fabricated."
"The Phoenix Suns are another team that Jimmy Butler's agent, Bernie Lee, has indicated in league circles that the six-time All-Star is open to as a destination while Miami listens to trade offers, sources tell ESPN, joining Dallas, Houston, and Golden State," Charania reported on X.
Three more teams have been "quietly mentioned" linking to Jimmy Butler
The list of teams does not stop there as three more were added in new reporting from ClutchPoints' NBA Insider Brett Seigel. He said that the San Antonio Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Los Angeles Lakers have been "quietly mentioned in league circles" to Butler.
"Three other teams quietly mentioned in league circles are the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Lakers," Seigel wrote. "Butler would be another great veteran leader for the Spurs to add next to Victor Wembanyama, and he could also really help Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, a younger team that has championship potential right now. After all, Sam Presti and the Thunder have plenty of draft assets to pull off any trade they want at any moment."
At any rate, there is no doubt that the situation regarding Miami and a possible trade for Butler will be monitored closely until the deadline, but there is still a season to be played. After the Heat's collapse against the Magic, they look to break their three-game skid against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.